The Weighting Game

If you could only see me now....there's now way anyone could possibly mistake me for a Future MILF. In addition to the extra pounds I've put on during the highly delicious and stressful holiday season, I am feeling oh-so glamorous and MILF-like in my crusty red flannel pajamas with swollen glands and greasy hair. I would like to think that the strep might have a positive side effect, like a few lost pounds, but with the only palatable food being chicken and dumplings and cookies & cream ice cream, that seems rather unlikely. Yeah, I'm so motivated...

I'm going to weigh in when I go to the gym on Monday, and go from there. I've done the Weight Watchers program, and been very successful. I lost about 100 pounds after Fat Baby was born. Yes, I lost 100 pounds, and still didn't make it to goal! Doesn't that suck? Anyway, I've found that I will make it to goal someday, and I won't get back to where I started.

Here are some things that I have learned in my 2+ years of working toward my goal weight, while maintaining my #1 goal to have a healthy lifestyle:
First, I really do like to work out. It is really good for me both physically and emotionally. If you get into the habit (by the way, I am temporarily out of the habit) of exercising on a regular basis, you will miss it when you don't do it. Eating healthy is the same way--you start to feel so great that you want to keep it up. Unfortunately, falling off the wagon has the same snowball effect. Those pounds you worked so hard to lose will come back & bring their buddies with them, more determined than ever to stick around.

I first began changing my view of weight loss and health when I developed gestational diabetes during my second pregnancy. I was "above average" in size during both pregnancies, and the first was picture-perfect. No swelling, no gestational diabetes, no high blood pressure...perfect health for both me & The teeny President-to-be. That gave me a false sense of security in my big-girlness...see, my skinny sister had gestational diabetes in both her pregnancies. I told myself that no matter the number on the scale, I was healthy.

Four years later, pregnant again, I began to swell about the second I conceived, I flunked the glucose tolerance test, and was concerned for the health of my unborn baby. Funny how moms work...we won't do it for ourselves, but we will walk through the pits of hell for our kids. I was so determined to make sure that my baby was okay, and I was going to do it myself---for him. I could control this condition through my choices in diet. It was a super-duper wake up call when my OB/GYN said that I might have to have insulin injections if I couldn't get my blood sugar where it needed to be. Well, I did it. I followed the diabetic diet to the letter. I was actually losing a healthy amount of weight as my baby gained. The first 40 pounds came off before I knew it...9+ pound baby, fluid, placenta, breast feeding, exhaustion, forgetting to eat properly...I had a little post-partum depression, which I didn't have the first time. It was a huge time of adjustment for me. I joined Weight Watchers when Fat Baby was one month old. I've been back & forth on the program for various reasons. Burnout, anxiety, frustration, scheduling, and laziness among them. I've been having a lot of trouble lately with anxiety...and believe me, there are circumstances in my life to warrant this. But I do feel that working out, and embracing the scheduling of a healthy lifestyle will help give me a much-needed boost.

My first mini-goal is to lose 15 pounds by March. I usually go to the tanning bed from March-May, that way I am nicely golden brown before my annual girls' beach trip, and before pool season starts. If I get a tan, I won't fry in the sun. Save me the "Evils of Tanning Beds" comments....if I won't listen to my own mother, I probably won't listen to you. Plus, I do it in moderation, so I don't look like worn leather. This is a little something I do for myself, kind of a reward for my fitness efforts.

I really need constant motivation, though. For me, the weight loss "honeymoon" is long over. I resent the fact that I even have to go to freaking Weight Watchers. Though it's nice when people notice how great you're looking, even that doesn't keep a girl from wanting some ice cream now and then. Mostly now. And then. And carbs. And other stuff.

I'm sending skinny vibes to all those MILFs in Training that Lotta has recruited...I can't wait to read about your success in the weeks to come!